Do you remember the Harlem Globetrotters cartoon? And were all of the NBA finals’ games televised or even televised live?

With the Indiana-Oklahoma City NBA final underway (after Thursday night, you and I may have to watch this series — or will you?), I’ll take a look back at some of the more recognized NBA finals as well as a brief summary of the NBA’s televised games in this week’s Yesterday column — reminiscing about sports and pop culture in the 1960s, 70s, ‘80s and sometimes before or beyond.

Also, what ABA franchise was once named the Buccaneers? What network initially televised the NBA? What Pittsburgh basketball team won a championship? Who was a WWF star from Hawaii in the mid-70s? And do you remember Clint Richardson?

If you know who Reggie Cross was, you deserve a mention in this column.

Trotting on the Tube ... From September 1970 to October 1971, the Harlem Globetrotters were part of our Saturday mornings on CBS. If you got up early as a kid, you may recall them on Sunday mornings from Sept. 1972 until May 1973. (There was a time when Sundays also had a brief stay in our preteens for many of us).

The Globetrotters depicted were Meadowlark Lemon, “Curly” Neal, “Geese” Ausbie, J.C. “Gip”Gipson, Paul “Pablo” Robertson and Bobby Joe Mason. Granny was the fictional bus driver and Dribbles was their dog mascot.

You may also recall the Globetrotters on “The New Scooby Doo Movies” in three episodes in 1972 and 1973. In 1979, CBS brought them back as “The Super Globetrotters” in roles as superheroes.

One offshoot I didn’t remember from the series was the short-lived ‘“Go-Go Globetrotters,” which NBC aired in 1978 as a two-hour show that incorporated animated shorts from the cartoon series.

TV Land revived the series on their “Super Retrovision Saturdaze” lineup in 1999, but the original series hasn’t aired since then.

I would love to see those old cartoons on a Saturday morning again.

It Wasn’t Always a TV Game ... In 1946, the NBA was born, but TV wasn’t in the picture.

Televised games initially surfaced in 1954 when the Dumont Sports Network aired the games for a season with legendary sportscaster Marty Glickman making the calls.

A year later, NBC took over from 1955-62 and Glickman called the games for another year until ex-Mets announcer Lindsey Nelson took over. During that time, only a few finals games were televised.

In 1963 and 1964, the league was off the air. ABC took over from 1965 through 1969, and again, only a few of the finals’ games were on TV. A year later, Knicks’ fans may remember how their 1970 championship game blacked out in New York. Manhattan Cable produced the game and aired it after the 11 p.m. news (Glickman had the play-by-play).

ABC continued with the league finals in 1972 and 1973 with the unlikely duo of Keith Jackson and Bill Russell, but the full slate of games was finally on the air. Legendary Chris Schankel was also part of the mix.

Flipping the Dial ... Most of us may remember CBS taking over the league broadcasts in 1974 with Pat Summerall and Hot Rod Hundley calling the games. However, Summerall was taken off the gig after a year, and Brent Musberger took over. CBS signed a deal with the league for 17 seasons.

Yet, Musberger has been his best on pregame shows, and he didn’t go over well. Gary Bender soon replaced Musberger, but he also had a short stint. Dick Stockton called the games for the final nine seasons.

ABC wanted to take a shot, but new ownership didn’t want to construct a deal. CBS regained the league, but the league took a back seat to its newly created college basketball package that proved to be a ratings grabber.

Michael Makes It Right ... In 1991, it was the “NBA on NBC,” as the network made a triumphant return. That was the attractive plug, and Michael Jordan and the Bulls helped the network to a financial bonanza.

NBC topped the cake by hiring Marv Albert, and it appeared to be the perfect fit. During the O.J. Simpson car chase, some of the NBC stations used a split screen during the games, while NBC in our area showed the Simpson saga.

Beginnings ... In 1974, the NBA finals became part of our living room, but they weren’t a ratings buster.

The highest rated series was the opening Celtics-Bucks matchup of 13.5 in 1974. Others over 10 were the Sixers-Trail Blazers in 1977 that drew a 12.7 rating (remember watching games from the old Portland arena?); Celtics-Suns, 11.5 in 1976; and Warriors-Bullets, 10.1 in 1975.

Those under 10 were both consecutive Sonics-Bullets series. In 1978, the Bullets won and drew 9.9, and the Sonics won in 1979 with a 7.7 share.

By the way, “Beginnings” was a song by Chicago that rose to No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971 and was the top song on the Easy Listening chart. It was originally released in 1969, but it didn’t make the charts.

It truly is one of the great Chicago songs.

Another Pittsburgh Championship ... Anyone remember the first ABA championship? It was in 1968 between the Pittsburgh Pipers and the New Orleans Buccaneers, and the Pipers won a classic series in seven games (It is worth watching on YouTube).

Controversial Connie Hawkins — in my opinion one of the most underrated players ever — was the Finals MVP, and he accumulated a best 419 points and an average of four steals a game in the postseason. Hawkins averaged a series-high 31 points.

Philadelphia’s Tom “Trooper” Washington — there’s a name from the past — pulled down a total of 262 rebounds in the playoffs. Washington averaged 10 rebounds a game over six ABA seasons, his final one with the Nets in 1972-73.

Who was the assist leader in the finals? It was former Sixers and Knicks head coach Larry Brown, who accumulated 129 assists in the postseason. Brown has a rather undefined career being on four teams in five years.

Doue Moe, another former Sixers’ coach, led the Bucs in scoring averaging 26 points per game, and Jimmie Jones, who spent three seasons with the Bullets, and Red Robbins averaged 21.6 points.

The Bucs moved to Memphis in 1970 and became the Tams. I still have a Robbins basketball card, the ones that were rectangular. Do you have any?

Another Classic Game ... In the early 1970s, Sears entered the electronic game race when they introduced their basketball, football and baseball games.

In the basketball game, you could pass, rebound, and score against a computerized defense. You would play on a half court and there was a double-digit scoreboard.

We all spent our time at Sears, and you may have picked one up along the way.

Highs and Lows ... The highest rated finals were the Bulls-Jazz in 1998 when it drew over 29 million viewers. Game Six of the series was watched by a record 33 million viewers.

This past Thursday night, the opening game drew only 8.91 million viewers, the lowest since the rating began in 1988.

WWF/WWE Wrap ... Each week, I’ll look back at the career of a former pro wrestler from our youth.

Do you remember Hawaii’s Dean Ho? He was a regular in the WWF in the mid-70s and held the tag-team championship with Tony Garea from 1973 through 1974.

Known for his signature moves of a full nelson and a karate chop, Ho compiled an overall record of 601-366-103 in 1,073 career matches. Ho began his career in 1962 when he also debuted as Dean Higuchi, and he continued until 1983.

Ho spent a number of years in the NWA and held the titles of Tag Team champion, San Francisco American Heavyweight champion, Georgia Tag Team champion, Pacific Northwest Tag Team champion, Vancouver Canadian Tag Team champion, and American Tag Team champion. As a NWA Tag Team champion, Ho once teamed with Moondog Mayne.

Ho passed away at age 80 in 2021.

Memory Lane ... Every week, I’ll look back at a former player, manager, head coach, or media personality from our yesterday.

Do you remember Sixers’ guard Clint Richardson? He was the team’s top pick in the 1979 draft from Seattle University, and was a rookie on their team that went to the finals against the Lakers. During the regular season, Richardson averaged 6.7 points in 52 games, and if you remember, he wore No. 4.

Richardson played six seasons in Philly and averaged 6.5 points per game in 426 contests. His best playoff series was the 1983 Eastern Conference finals against Milwaukee in which he averaged nearly eight points per game.

On Oct. 23, 1985, Richardson was traded to Indiana for a second-round pick, which turned out to be Hawaii 6-8 center Reggie Cross, who never played an NBA game. If you can recall Cross, you’re a true Sixers’ fan.

Richardson had a brief stint in Indiana, where he averaged 8.1 points in 160 games before he was released on Dec. 10, 1987 and his career ended.

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